Shooting-gallery.



E. HIOIWA'RTH.

SHOOTING GALLERY.

APFLIOATION lPILLD MAR.22, 191s.

1,091,339. Patented Mar. 24, 1914 a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. HOWARTH.

SHOOTING GALLERY.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 22, 1913.

Patented Mar.24,-191L 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PxfANooR/PH cO..wASH|NuToN. D. c,

E. HOWARTH.

S'HOOTING GALLERY.' APPLICATION FILEI) MAR.22, 1913.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Eclw ard llowarth MW@ @M @m/M@ cuLuMBlA DLANOGRAPH c0..w^smNGToN, u. C.

EDWARD HOWARTH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SHOOTING- GALLERY.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 22, 1913. Serial No. 756,234.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD HowAR'rI-L, acitizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Shooting-Galleries, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to amusement devices, and particularly to whatare known as shooting galleries; and it has for its primary object theprovision of means for supporting target forming objects for travel ingmovements and for causing certain of the objects to travel in confuseand irregular courses relatively to other objects and for rendering thetask of strikingV the objects extremely diificult and yet veryinteresting and amusing.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an amusement devicesimulating a rural scene and including a body of water wherein thetarget objects are mounted for swimming-like movements.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby all of thetarget objects may be driven from a common source of motive power.

Another object of the invention is the provision of magneticallycontrolled mechanism for normally attracting certain of the objects ofthe device into a prescribed range and for accurately causing theobjects to take swimming-like movements in the body of water whilepermitting the objects to be deflected from their intended course oftravel and to be deranged and partly submerged in the water when struckby a projectile or missile and then subsequently returned into theirintended course of travel and made to successively follow one another.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, aswill be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of thedevice; Fig. 2 is a transverse section'therethrough; F ig. 3 is ahorizontal section through the tank, showing the driven mechanism forpropelling' the target objects; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through aportion of one of the trees', showing the manner of imparting rockingmovements to the limbs thereof; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Fig.2;'Fig. 6

is a perspective view of a portion of one of the propelling beltsillustrating the manner of magneticallyattracting the target objects;and Fig. 7 isla perspective View of the countersha-ft, showing themanner of transmitting power therefrom to a set of propelling belts.

- e device comprises a suitable base or foundation 1, including asuperstructure 2, over which is laid .a body of material 3 such asmetal, papier-mch or any other suitable well known material which ismolded or formed irregular so that the scene at the back of the devicerepresents, preferably, a hill or mountainous country and including avertical back portion 4 which is spaced vertically from a vertical wall5 so as to re` ceive in the space, a driven belt 6, on which may bemounted objects 7 simulatin rabbits, squirrels, dogs or the like whiclare made to appear as traveling over the hills of the scene described bythe portion 4. The belt is mounted on supporting rollers 8 which arejournaled in the portions 4L and 5 of the structure as shown in Fig. 2.It is of course understood that the rollers are associated with theendless belt so as to cause the upper lead thereof to take sinuous orirregular courses.

The foundation or main support l of the structure preferably lies belowthe plane of the portion 3 is constructed so as to accommodate a watercontainer, such as the tank 9. In the tank 9 and journaled uponvertically rising stub shafts 10 are rollers 11 arranged in inner andouter series and accommodating an endless belt 12 which has securedthereto, as at 13, horse-shoe magnets 14. These magnets extend in thedirection of the surface of the water in the tank and they are adaptedto attract metallic surfaces 15 of objects 16 representing ducks or thelike so that when power is transmitted to the belt 12, the objects takeswimming-like movements upon the surface of the water. The objects 16are preferably made to take sinuous-like courses in the tank through therelative arrangement of the supporting rollers 11. One of the rollers 11has fixed thereto a beveled gear wheel 17 which intermeshes with asimilar gear wheel 18 on a driving shaft 20, the latter forming` a partof an electric motor which is conventionally illustrated at 2l in F ig.2. Said driving shaft is provided with a pulley 22 which is alined witha Patented Mar. 24, 1914. i.

and at the front thereof and similar pulley 23 on one of the rollers 8of each mounted to travel on superimposed series of rollers 27 journaledin the tank and support-ing rigid rods 28 at desired intervals. Thesupporting rollers 27 for each of the belts 25 and 26 are arrangedrelatively so that the belts travel in sinuous courses. The rods 28 areconnected with objects 29 representing reptiles which may be constructedof rubber or the equivalent thereof so that they may be flexed. Fromthis construction and incident to the fact that the leads of the belts25 and 26 take the described sinuous courses it becomes evident that theobjects 29 are made to gradually appear above the surface of the waterthen disappear beneath the surface of the water and at point preferablybehind the spaces between the objects 16. The main driving shaft 2O isoperatively connected at 30 with the counter-shaft 31 for transmittingpower to the belts 25 and 26. The shaft 31 carries a roller 32, overwhich the belt. 25 passes. Said shaft also carries a roller 33, which isdisposed directly over one of the supporting rollers 27 of the belt 26,the association of the roller 33 with the belt 26 being such as to causethe belt to move in an opposite direction to the belt 25. In this mannerthe objects 29 at the front of the tank appear to be traveling in adirect circular course horizontally between the objects 1c.

The scene represented in the device as illustrated includes hollow treesimulating objects 34 which may be constructed of metal, and asillustrated each is provided with a plurality of rocking limbs 35, theinner ends of which are pivoted at 36 and provided withcounter-balancing weights 37 whereby the limbs are normally maintainedin elevated positions. The outer ends of the limbs support objects 38representing birds. Reciprocating controlling rods 39 are mounted in theelements 34, and as illustrated said rods are provided with tripsurfaces 40 which are designed to bear against the inner ends of thelimbs 35, so as to move the same against the action of the weights 37.The lower ends of the rods are pro-- vided with eccentric straps 41,which are adapted to revolve in eccentrics 42 carried by a shaft 43. Theshaft 43 is connected with a countershaft 44 whose lower end is Yprovided with a gear 45 which meshes with .a similar gear 46 on the maindriving shaft 42O, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Any number of object propelling belts may be associated with thestructure as is obviously understood, and I prefer to mention that inpractice it is found desirable to employ a belt such as the ones shownat 6, 25 and 26 and to arrange the same at the front of the tank 9 andto support therefrom objects representing frogs which may be made toappear as jumping over the surface 47 at the front of the tank. Anyother systematic arrangement of the objects may be made as may mostappeal to the eye and which will render the operation of shooting aparticular object extremely diflicult, yet amusing and interesting.

Any suitable mechanical appliance may be used by means of whichprojectiles of the desired type may be projected at the target formingobjects. For instance, air guns employing missies such as corks, orsuitable wads may be employed or devices for projecting small rubberballs, beans or the like may be used.

Having thus I claim is l. An amusement device, including an outer groupof traveling objects, and a group of iiexible travelino' objects locatedwithin the outer group, and ing the objects of the inner groupvertically with relation to the traveling plane of the outer objects.

2. An amusement device, including an outer group of traveling objects,and a group of flexible traveling objects located within the outergroup, and means for moving the objects of the inner group verticallywith relation to the traveling plane of the outer objects and forcausing the same to gradually appear and disappear from the plane ofvision.

3. An amusement device, including an outer group of traveling objects,and a gro-up of flexible traveling objects locatedv within the outergroup, and means for moving the objects of the inner group verticallywith relation to the traveling plane of the outer objects and forcausing the same to gradually appear and disappear from the plane ofvision, and means for permitting the objects of the outer group to beshifted from their traveling courses.

4. An amusement device, including an outer group of traveling objects, agroup of flexible traveling objects located within the outer group,means for moving the objects of the inner group vertically with relationto the traveling plane of the outer objects and for causing the same togradually appear and disappear from the plane of vision, means forpermitting the objects of the outer group to be shifted from theirtraveling courses, and then automatically returned to their travelingcourses.

5. An amusement device, including an outer group of traveling objects,agroup of flexible described my invention, what means for movtravelingobjects located Within the outer group, means for moving the objects ofthe inner group vertically with relation to the traveling plane of theouter objects and for causing the same to gradually appear and disappearfrom the plane of vision, and means for permitting the objects of theouter group to be shifted from their traveling courses and subsequentlyreturned to their traveling courses.

6. An amusement device comprising a tank, oatingobjects mounted therein,a hollow member rising from one side of the tank, rocking devicessupported from said member, propelling means for said objects locatedwithin the tank, a driving shaft connected with the propelling means andvertically reciprocating means actuated by the driving shaft andcontrolling the rocking devices simultaneously with the operation of thepropelling means.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD HOWARTH.

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner ot Patents,

Washington, D. C.

